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The latest plans for the Downtown Dallas freeway reconstruction project called The Horseshoe will be unveiled at a public meeting Thursday evening. (Published Thursday, Aug 2, 2012)

Updated at 6:07 PM CDT on Thursday, Aug 2, 2012

The latest plans for the Downtown Dallas freeway reconstruction project called “The Horseshoe” will be unveiled at a public meeting Thursday evening.

The Horseshoe is the complete replacement of the Downtown Dallas “Mixmaster” interchange of Interstate 30 and Interstate 35E, the Canyon segment of I-30 between I-35E and Interstate 45 and the I-30 and I-35E bridges over the Trinity River.

Work on the $818 million project is expected to begin next spring and last several years.

Thursday's meeting is a hearing to receive public comments on the plans.

It starts with a 6 p.m. open house where visitors can review the plans and then a formal presentation and comment period beginning at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be at the Hyatt Regency Dallas Hotel, Landmark Room A & B, 300 Reunion Boulevard.

The Texas Transportation Commission is expected to award a design/build contract for the project in December.

A design/build contract means the contractor will complete final design work for the project after the contract is awarded, but the Texas Department of Transportation has already completed much of the planning.

Spring 2013 construction will mainly be utility relocation with actual digging to come later in 2013.

The Mixmaster carries more than 350,000 vehicles a day and is rated among the 20 most congested roadways in Texas.

Highway engineers a few years ago pushed for faster replacement of the interstate bridges than previously planned because the bridges are around 50 years old and their condition has deteriorated.

The I-30 replacement will include scaled down “Signature” elements being designed by architect Santiago Calatrava.

An earlier I-30 Santiago Calatrava design was found to be too expensive.

The Horseshoe Project will involve years of major traffic disruption.

The Calatrava designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which extended Woodall Rodgers Freeway across the Trinity River, may become a more useful alternate route during Horseshoe construction.

Decorative elements intended to blend with the other two “signature” bridges will also be included on the I-35E bridge but will not be designed by Calatrava.